Artemis Orthia
Artemis Orthia was a childe of the Ventrue Antediluvian who ruled over ancient Sparta. She led the Ventrue to victories, playing a role in the Clan's inﬂuence over ancient Rome. Her impulsive desire to clash with foes pushed her to doom, as she led the charge against Brujah Carthage. Her destruction or torpor occurred within the first minutes of battle. Biography The Ventrue proudly declare that the vampire battle maiden currently known as "Artemis Ortia" was truly beloved by their Progenitor, and that she was his first Embrace. No one actually knows her true name, as that was lost to time itself. However, they do know that a great betrayal ripped the one known as Artemis Orthia apart from her sire. After the diaspora following the decline of the Second City, she settled in the Peloponnes. There she met the mortal philosopher . Originally, Artemis intended to merely feed upon the philosopher and discard his body, but to his fortune he managed to drew her into conversation, discussing his dream for the Spartans. Artemis, who saw inaction as a coward's way and overlong planning as prevarication, was quickly impressed by his ideas and spared the man. Paying attention to the lesson given by the destruction of her broodmate Medon, she anticipated the potential threat (and usefulness) of Lycurgus' dream. She decided to follow a course of action that so many Ventrue after her would emulate: rather than try to oppose or dominate the growing power of mortal institutions (and risk being overrun in the process), she rode with it, joining the Spartan invigoration to influence the making of history. For this endeavor she assumed the name by which she is still known today, that of the goddess , patron of the Spartans. The methuselah made her haven at the goddess' temple and from there she saw in the Spartans many parallels to Cainite existence. A large population of ("slaves") made progress possible for the Spartans, just as the large population of kine made Kindred existence possible. Having so many slaves allowed the Spartans to devote their entire lives to perfecting the art of war. Where most Greek city-states had to spend their time farming or trading to support themselves, the Spartans could focus solely upon the challenges of self-perfection and self-defense. Unswervingly loyal, unflinchingly brave, and nearly unbeatable in battle, the Spartans struck Artemis as a flawless model of the mortal potential. Soon, other Ventrue came to the Peloponnese and submitted to her rule. An alliance with Corinth and its Ventrue Prince Evarchus during the construction of the Peloponnesian League further stabilized Artemis control over her people, although she ruled not over them. The Spartans got involved in the Persian Wars against her wishes and the following rise of Athens and its Brujah masters. In the Peloponnesian War (a conflict named the First Brujah War by Ventrue historians) Artemis followed her people against Athens, but found that the Brujah had already abandoned the city. Disappointed, Artemis and her childe Lysander fled Sparta, leaving her temple to be burned by the Thebans. They eventually reached Italy in the 4th century B.C. and Artemis took residence in Syracuse, leaving her torpid body guarded by the allied Prince Alchias. However, some time after being threatened by the Carthaginian Brujah, the Malkavian Prince awakened her at the dawning of the , in order to plan the involvement of Rome in the coming battles. She, along with her childe and Alchias, continuously pressed the Roman prince to destroy Carthage and in the Third Punic War, she was granted her wish. Artemis herself led the first foray into the city, and was torn to shreds by a Frenzied pack of Brujah in the initial stages of the battle. Her childe Lysander emerged from the battle scarred but otherwise intact, having taken the final Brujah head himself. Trivia Descendants of Artemis Orthia share their ancestor's desire to destroy enemies through force of arms and men, building great warrior herds and fanatically loyal armies. Orthians seize thrones, and rarely bide their time when a blade can quicken the process. They believe they are due glory, and take it without pause. References * * Category:Ventrue (VTM) Category:Fourth Generation vampires Category:Methuselahs Category:Vampire: The Dark Ages characters